Friday, June 28, 2013

Adding A Personal Touch


When my husband and I first announced that we were building a house, the reaction was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and supportive.  "It's the best experience of your life!" - "It's a rollercoaster, but it's great!" - "The house will truly be YOURS!"  So far, all these statements have been true.  We have thoroughly enjoyed the process of building - obsessively visiting the site to see what progress has been made each day {we live nearby so it's not inconvenient to stop by} and taking TONS of pictures.    

Like any woman of the modern era, I took to the internet to see if I could find cute, "original" ideas for ways to make the house feel more like ours during the build process.  I saw ideas of writing prayers on the walls/floors or nailing a personal item to the inside frame so it would be built within your walls.  Not being particularly religious nor willing to sacrifice meaningful personal items, we struggled to find the perfect way to put our mark on the house.  

Finally, we decided we wanted to write a quote on the door frame.  We wanted something welcoming, meaningful, deep, and original - and not cliche or cheesy.  Hahaha!  A VERY tall order for a quote.
I found the usuals:
What I Love Most About My Home is Who I Share It With
There's No Place Like Home
Every Journey Ends With Home
The greatest work you'll ever do will be within the walls of your home.
Having somewhere to go is Home, Having someone to love is Family, Having both is a Blessing.

While all very wise words, none of these statements really spoke to us.  Finally, one night, while scrolling through the internet {ahem, Pinterest}, my husband suggested, "Why don't we use a line from our wedding vows?"

{Isn't he the sweetest?!}
Our wedding vows were a mixture of disgustingly sweet and absurdly ridiculous promises we were making to each other.  For example, building each other up when the world gets too big and always splitting a bag of gummy bears amicably.  But we both ended our vows with the line: "While I cannot promise you that life with me will always be easy, I can promise you it will always be a big adventure."

For fans of J. M. Barrie, this line is very familiar.  
The line speaks to very famous lines from the story Peter Pan - my favorite book of all time.  In fact, I used to call my husband Peter Pan when we were in college because I always felt he would be the boy that would never grow up.  And while he has grown up {we both have}, adventure always seems to find us.

{Cheese factor overload yet?}

So the line we decided on was:
To live will be an awfully big adventure.

It is a nod to our past together, the vows we made to each other, and the life we intend to live together - in our new home.  Awww...

On a somewhat related sidenote:  It appears our house is already a home.  A few weeks ago, we noticed a dove nesting in our garage.  As progress was made on the house, we worried that when time came for insulation and drywall the workers would be less than kind.  However, the workers installed insulation around her nest as the baby birds were born and growing.
When it came time for drywall, the workers carefully relocated the birds - to a ledge they built specifically for the birds outside our front door shaded from the Arizona sun.  
We revisited the lot recently to find even more scrap construction items have been added to further protect the birds from the heat and wind.  We could not be more happy and touched that the construction crew would take care of nature in such a way.  Awww...

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Camp Craft Week {Recap}


Camp Craft Week has come to close!  I hope you have found inspiration to entertain your little ones and enjoyed the creativity.

I hope you didn't miss any of our crafts.  Here is a list of them all!










Saturday, June 22, 2013

Beaded Lizards


Camp Craft Week Project #6: Beaded Lizards

Everyone loves crafting with pony beads and what better way than to make our summertime friend the Lizard.  This beaded lizard will keep kids entertained and occupied for about a half an hour - so it's a quick and clean project.  
Materials
Bag of pony beads {plastic beads}
String
Scissors

Instructions
1.  Start planning out your pattern.  Use the photos below as a guide for the layout.

2.  Cut a piece of string about 16 inches long.

3.  Begin stringing on beads.  Follow pictures below for guidance.

The arms.  Repeat on both sides.

Back to the body.

Legs.  Repeat on both sides.

Tail.

4.  Tie off with a knot and marvel at the awesomeness of the LIZARD!!!

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Friday, June 21, 2013

Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder


Camp Craft Week Project #5: Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder

An alternative craft to making popsicle stick pictures frames or an egg carton bird feeder is the popsicle stick bird feeder.  This project is quick, easy and perfect for little fingers!  Just have some glue and bird seed handy and your little one will be inviting the birds over for a snack in no time!

 Materials
Popsicle Sticks
Glue
String

Instructions
1.  Lay out popsicle sticks to create the base of the feeder.  Use a full stick as a guide for length.

2.  Once all laid out and lined up, add glue to two sticks and place across the base.
3.  Add two more sticks in the middle for additional support for the bottom.

4.  Flip base over and add two sticks along edge, perpendicular to base sticks.

5.  Add dots of glue to all four corners and add to sticks overlapping previous lay, log cabin style.

6.  Cut one stick in half and glue to base to create a step for the birds.

 Glue sticks over the top to hold into place.

7.  Resume adding sticks using the log cabin method, only applying glue to the corners.

8.  Cut two pieces of string about 1 ft long each.  String through the bottom of the bird feeder and up through slats in the sides.  Tie all four ends in a knot.


 9.  Add bird seed, hang and enjoy your guests!

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